Definition
A category in the NTSB accident report taxonomy covering pilot actions and choices made during flight, including route selection, altitude changes, fuel management decisions, weather avoidance, and the decision to continue, divert, or terminate the flight. It is distinct from preflight planning and from the physical handling of the aircraft.
Plain English
The thinking and choosing a pilot does while already airborne -- deciding where to go, when to change course, whether to keep flying or land, and how to handle changing conditions in the air.
Context Anchor
Seen in NTSB accident reports and instructor discussions when identifying a pilot decision made during the flight as a factor in an accident or incident.
Derivation
“In-flight” means during the flight. “Decision” comes from a Latin idea meaning to cut off other choices; that fits aviation because deciding in the air means choosing one course of action and leaving others behind.
Why Pilots Care
Inadequate in-flight planning or poor decisions often allow a manageable situation to deteriorate into an accident.
Grounding Statement
You are already airborne, something changes, and you must choose the safest next action instead of simply continuing the original plan.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as preflight planning or paperwork done before takeoff. In this context, it means the planning and choices made while the aircraft is already flying.
Example Sentence 1
The accident report listed in-flight planning/decision as a contributing factor because the pilot continued toward the destination despite worsening visibility instead of diverting to a nearby airport.
Example Sentence 2
Investigators determined that poor in-flight decision making caused the pilot to continue into known icing conditions.